Former Chief of Army Staff, General TY Danjuma (rtd.) had urged Nigerians to defend themselves amid what he called a worsening security collapse, accusing elements of the military of colluding with bandits in a resurfacing videos that have gone viral.
Speaking in one video, Danjuma warned that the Nigerian Armed Forces are not neutral in the country’s security crises.
“If you are waiting for them to stop the ongoing killings you will all die one by one,” he said, alleging that some in the military facilitate bandit movements, cover their actions and enable attacks that include ethnic cleansing. He framed the comments as an urgent call for citizens to act rather than rely solely on state forces.
Speaking at a staff appreciation event in Takum, Taraba State, on April 19, 2025, Danjuma reiterated his long-standing call for self-defence. Addressing his staff, business partners, and associates, he emphasized that citizens must not remain passive while terrorists and criminal gangs threaten their lives and livelihoods.
“The warning I gave some years ago is still as valid today as it was then. Nigerians must rise and defend themselves,” Danjuma said. “We cannot continue to sit and watch while bandits, terrorists, and criminal gangs massacre our people unchecked. It is now very clear that the government alone cannot protect us. We must stand up and defend ourselves, our families, and our lands before these criminals overrun the entire country.”
He concluded with a sobering reminder: “It is now very clear that the government alone cannot protect us. We must stand up and defend ourselves, our families, and our lands before these criminals overrun the entire country.”
